BOSS
“Bad Bitch Shit”: Natalie Nunn and Rolling Ray Get Messy
In the latest frenzy for unhinged influencer-driven reality streamers, countless Americans have tuned in to watch the nation’s messiest scrap it out on Natalie Nunn’s Baddies. The franchise is a headless homage to Bad Girls Club, the late-aughts series where Nunn first got a taste for tussling in the spotlight. Since then, the executive producer, rapper, and entrepreneur has leveraged her thirst for chaos into a business empire, all while raising a young daughter. But before the reality vixen brings Baddies to the Caribbean for its fifth season, she calls up her fellow Zeus star RollingRay to let him know how she runs L.A.
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THURSDAY 3 PM FEB. 22, 2024 CANCÚN
ROLLINGRAY: Hi Natalie! Purrr.
NUNN: Purrr. I’ve been out of the country and I just got to the hotel. RollingRay, what you doing?
ROLLINGRAY: Ahhh! Girl, I’m just in the house.
NUNN: That’s my baby.
ROLLINGRAY: For the first time ever, I finally had Wingstop, bitch. I never had Wingstop. You had it before?
NUNN: Yeah, Wingstop is bomb. Did you like it?
ROLLINGRAY: Yes. Girl, they got these big-ass blue cheese—it’s big as shit. And I had the buffalo chicken tenders and their boneless wings with some fries.
NUNN: Which wings did you like the best?
ROLLINGRAY: The buffalo chicken tenders. It gave.
NUNN: I like the lemon pepper.
ROLLINGRAY: I got to try that. So look, I got some questions for you, Natalie. The first question I have is, what’s your Zodiac sign?
NUNN: I’m a Capricorn, and I’m a real true Capricorn too. When you look up Capricorns, all they care about is working and getting some fucking money.
ROLLINGRAY: That’s true. I’m a Virgo, so we both earth signs. I got two Capricorn best friends. I love them dearly. My next question is, what’s your favorite food?
NUNN: I really love Mexican food. Rice, beans, enchiladas, tacos, burritos. You can’t go wrong if you bring me a plate of Mexican food.
ROLLINGRAY: Okay, purrr. Chipotle or Qdoba?
NUNN: Chipotle all day.
ROLLINGRAY: Purrr, purrr, purrr. My next question—and this is a very, very good question—if you had a chance to have another baby, would you want a boy or a girl?
NUNN: I think a boy would be fun. My daughter’s very sporty, she’s not a girly girl. Journey’s like how I was growing up, kind of a tomboy.
ROLLINGRAY: Yeah.
NUNN: So I get the best of both worlds, but being a boy mom would be dope.
ROLLINGRAY: I see you putting him in Burberry and—
NUNN: A little Amiri drip, some Timbs with his jeans.
ROLLINGRAY: Purrr. You a big 49ers fan, right?
NUNN: I love the Niners. I was a 49ers cheerleader probably five times in my life for Halloween. When I was little, my mom would dress me up as one. My best friend, who was in my wedding, Deiondra Sanders, her dad, Deion Sanders, was one of the biggest 49ers players ever.
ROLLINGRAY: I remember you saying that on Bad Girls Club back in the day.
NUNN: Yes, and I could not believe they lost the Super Bowl. I thought they were for sure finna win. We had this million-dollar box at the Super Bowl, popping bottles and partying.
ROLLINGRAY: I seen it. Y’all was right by the goal line.
NUNN: We’re right in the end zone and we fucking lose. I was pissed.
ROLLINGRAY: It’s okay. What’s your favorite time of the year?
NUNN: I love Christmas, even though my birthday’s the day after Christmas. I love getting gifts for people. I’m very giving. I like to make people happy. I don’t really care to get gifts. Christmas is all the time for a bad bitch.
ROLLINGRAY: You are giving, and you’re the queen of Baddies and the queen of Bad Girls Club. You the queen of it all. Going into the new season of Baddies Caribbean, are you excited? Will this be the best season so far?
NUNN: Yes because we’re going out of the country. It’s going to bring a different feel. When we took our vacation to Jamaica, it was a whole different vibe. And on Bad Girls Club, they did one season out of the country. It was Bad Girls Club: Mexico.
ROLLINGRAY: I remember that one.
NUNN: That was a very popular season with Mehgan James on it, and it did very, very well. People love to see the culture and to see Baddies leave the country. This is going to be our biggest season because people will want to see how we interact with the locals. I’m excited.
ROLLINGRAY: The fans really want at least one or two Caribbean girls. Are you looking to bring in a girl from the islands?
NUNN: Oh, yeah. We’re definitely going to have the island girls on there. That’s important. We got to have somebody tell us where we should or shouldn’t be going and how we should or shouldn’t be acting. We need somebody from every island that we’re going to on that damn show with us so that we know what we doing. We’re not from over there. Are you ready for Baddies Caribbean?
ROLLINGRAY: Hell yeah. When I say the whole D.C. is always talking about Baddies, they always saying, “Oh my god, we love Baddies. We love Natalie. We love all the girls.” If you had a chance to bring any of the old Baddies back, any cast member—
NUNN: Oooh, RollingRay, you getting messy!
ROLLINGRAY: Who do you miss?
NUNN: Miss or want to come on the show?
ROLLINGRAY: Both.
NUNN: Maybe Judi Jai. Judi was on Baddies ATL.
ROLLINGRAY: In the first season.
NUNN: Yeah, she left early and I don’t think she really got the whole experience of the Baddies house.
ROLLINGRAY: Her and Caribbean would go hand in hand, in a way.
NUNN: Yeah, because she’s like a voodoo girl. Judi was a fan favorite from Bad Girls Club. The fans loved her. She was iconic, she had a lot of big one-liners. “I got the voodoo for you bitches,” all that. I think she just came on too early. During Baddies ATL, we were just getting our feet wet in the Zeus universe, but now we’re popping and I think she should come make a cameo. She’s fucking nuts and great TV.
ROLLINGRAY: Purrr Judi, purrr.
NUNN: We’re in the middle of casting, so who would you want to see on the show?
ROLLINGRAY: That’s a good question. I would like to see ScarLip on Baddies. She’s a rapper. She’s already a baddie, but I see you rebranding her with some razzle-dazzle.
NUNN: She’s the one that sings, “Get the fuck out New York”?
ROLLINGRAY: Yeah, purrr. So working with Zeus, do you have days where you don’t want to come into work or is every day fun?
NUNN: I love working with Zeus. Even the days that I work from their office are fun. It’s such a good vibe. We got the lounge, we can play pool or ping-pong, we got the recording studios. It’s just when I’m on set and working on the show with the girls that it’s more stressful. The Baddies can stress me out at times. [Laughs]
ROLLINGRAY: But you had the will, Natalie. I like how you appeal to emotion. I like how you know how to channel each Baddie and know how to level them, from Rollie [Pollie] to Ahna [Mac], even Smiley [Borrego]. You know how to get them in their chill zone and understand where they’re coming from. It’s the HBIC for me.
NUNN: Well, each season, I take the time while we’re casting to learn about them, their past, where they really come from—not just where they’re living now—who their parents are, their brothers and sisters. It’s important to know the type of person that we’re dealing with because they all got trigger points, they all got different personalities, and they all react differently. We can’t just box them all in one group, like, “They’re all Baddies.” No, they’re all different types of Baddies.
ROLLINGRAY: I like that. Let’s get into the music. Congratulations on your song. Purr, I like it.
NUNN: Thank you.
ROLLINGRAY: Are we expecting an album? What’s up with the music, Natalie?
NUNN: I am putting together something super dope right now. It’s not a secret, but I’m working on something big for summer 2024 for all the baddies out there.
ROLLINGRAY: How did you feel when Nicki Minaj mentioned you?
NUNN: With all the drama with Ice Spice, Latto, Nicki [Minaj], and Megan [Thee Stallion], they’re all channeling their inner Baddies in some form. I love them all, so I don’t get involved in the messy shit. That would be like them getting involved in the Baddie universe. They all watch the show, but they don’t get into it like that. But Nicki is the queen and she’s been somebody that I’ve always looked up to as a boss bitch. I’ll always pay respects to Nicki, so her saying my name was insane. I didn’t even know it was coming.
ROLLINGRAY: Yeah, just waking up and hearing your name must have been crazy.
NUNN: That’s exactly what happened. I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and I had all these calls because she dropped that song at midnight. I woke up like, “Why is all these people calling my phone?” Then I saw they’re texting me, like, “Nicki Minaj said your name!” I was like, “What is going on?” But what’s even crazier is, check this out: People know me all over the world, but once she said my name, I went to Dubai for New Year’s and I’m out there at the local market, and Middle Eastern girls were running up to me saying, “Even if my name was Natalie Nunn.” I was like, “What?”
ROLLINGRAY: You bitches still couldn’t chin-check me. Purrr.
NUNN: [Laughs] Purrr. It definitely went international and I love her for that. Bad bitch shit.
ROLLINGRAY: Everyone wants her to host Baddies.
NUNN: I would love to have her on board with anything Baddies on Zeus, but even a bad bitch anthem collab would be dope.
ROLLINGRAY: And Natalie, I really appreciate how you’re trying to inspire. When I met you, you were so welcoming. You know how to handle the room and I like that about you.
NUNN: Well, let’s be real, you’re legendary. I was so jealous that you were on another project on Zeus and not mine because boy, you know how the fuck to go viral, RollingRay. Let’s talk about it.
ROLLINGRAY: [Laughs] Thank you. Purrr.
NUNN: You got the bad bitches saying “purrr.” You’re a trendsetter. I look forward to when you make the blogs because you always have something to say.
ROLLINGRAY: It’s always something.
NUNN: I think it was yesterday when you were like, “My tax refund check hit, pull your pants up and put your dick away.” [Laughs]
ROLLINGRAY: Yeah, so get the fuck out of my house. Purrr.
NUNN: [Laughs] Why did you say that? I almost fell out the chair. You go viral for funny-ass shit. I also loved you on Bobby I Love You, Purrr. That show was even more epic because you were a part of it. So when Interview said, “Why don’t we have RollingRay interview you?” I was like, “Duh.”
ROLLINGRAY: Thank you. Purrr.
NUNN: I think there’s a big future for you, even in the Zeus universe. You’re just legendary. If there’s anything you ever need from me, you have my phone number. Actually, I have to change my number because one of the Baddies leaked it.
ROLLINGRAY: I remember that.
NUNN: I’m going to change it today because I’ve had a million random people calling my phone, so I’ll give you my new number.
ROLLINGRAY: That’s ignorant.
NUNN: They’re haters. I love you, RollingRay.
ROLLINGRAY: I love you, too. It was nice talking to you, Natalie. It really was.
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Hair: Fitch Lunar at Opus Beauty.
Makeup: Jaime Diaz using Fenty Beauty at Paradis.
Photography Assistant: Alicia Vasquez.
Fashion Assistant: Eddie Lopez Bautista.
Production Assistant: Frankie Benkovic.
Retouching: Patrick Fisher.